“The End of Alzheimer’s”—A Bizarre Claim or a Great Innovation?

Seeing the title “The End of Alzheimer’s,” my first thought was: what audacity—that someone dares to claim they can end Alzheimer’s disease, a condition even harder to cure than cancer. There are many people cured of cancer, but we have never heard of anyone whose Alzheimer’s was cured.

But after reading the author’s preface, I immediately felt I had found a kindred spirit. The End of Alzheimer’s (original title The End of Alzheimer’s) is a monograph on Alzheimer’s disease written by the renowned neurologist Dr. Dale E. Bredesen.

Dr. Bredesen has studied Alzheimer’s disease for more than thirty years. He pioneered the ReCODE personalized treatment protocol for Alzheimer’s, a program that integrates modern neurology, Traditional Chinese Medicine, and Indian medicine. Dr. Bredesen applied this protocol to more than 2,000 patients with Alzheimer’s disease. He not only effectively improved their cognitive function but even helped some patients return to work; the results were outstanding.

Someone with a TCM background reading this book will feel a strong sense of familiarity. Dr. Bredesen divides Alzheimer’s disease into four different patterns: inflammatory/heat type (Type 1), atrophic/cold type (Type 2), glyco-toxic/sweet type (Type 1.5, because it combines features of Types 1 and 2), and toxic/malignant type (Type 3).

Dr. Bredesen believes that these four types of patients differ in etiology and pathology, so their treatment plans should also differ. Treatment should be tailored to the individual. This closely resembles the TCM idea of pattern differentiation and treatment. Moreover, the inflammatory type among his four categories corresponds to the TCM heat pattern, while the atrophic type corresponds to the TCM cold pattern.

Not only that, Dr. Bredesen further integrated the TCM concept of holism into his medical thinking. He believes that treating Alzheimer’s must be approached from multiple angles. He views Alzheimer’s as the body’s self-protective response to damaging mechanisms caused by inflammation, deficiency of key nutritional factors supporting the brain, insulin resistance, and invasion by toxins (such as mercury and mycotoxins); these pathogenic factors are the key drivers of cognitive decline.

Since the causes are multifactorial, it follows that the treatment must also be comprehensive. Dr. Bredesen’s ReCODE protocol therefore closely resembles a holistic TCM treatment strategy.

I previously wrote an article titled “A Possibly Workable TCM Approach to Curbing Senile Dementia,” in which I described the comprehensive treatment plan I adopted after my father developed early Alzheimer’s symptoms. In that article I specifically noted that treating Alzheimer’s cannot rely on a single approach; a very comprehensive medication strategy is needed.

I wrote in that article: “I believe we need to improve his brain from several angles. First, unblock the cerebral vessels, using Chinese herbs such as Chuanxiong Rhizoma, Angelicae Dahuricae Radix, Viticis Fructus, Schizonepetae Herba, Olibanum, Myrrha, and Puerariae Lobatae Radix to improve cerebral blood circulation; these herbs indeed have such effects. Second, improve his sleep, using Ziziphi Spinosae Semen, Biotae Semen, Polygalae Radix, Albiziae Cortex, and Polygoni Multiflori Caulis to improve his sleep. Third, repair his neurons, using Gastrodiae Rhizoma and Acori Tatarinowii Rhizoma; traditional TCM holds that these herbs ‘awaken the orifices,’ and modern pharmacology shows they have nervous-system-repairing effects. In addition, I used Morindae Officinalis Radix, Cyperi Rhizoma, and Rosae Rugosae Flos to improve his mood. Such a formula integrating Chinese and Western medical reasoning can systematically relieve his clinical symptoms. For ease of long-term adherence, I prepared them as pills for him to take. I also paired this with vitamin E (to protect and repair the vascular endothelium and as an antioxidant) and vitamin C.”

In fact, I used more than 100 herbs for my father. This was based on my research into stroke sequelae—I have been studying stroke sequelae for nearly twenty years—tailoring the herbs to my father’s symptoms. This approach worked very well: after taking the herbs, my father’s sleep improved rapidly, and his mood and cognitive disturbances also lessened.

After I published that article, an acquaintance told me that her father-in-law had symptoms similar to my father’s, and she asked me to try to relieve his symptoms as well. I had her try my father’s regimen; after one week of medication, her father-in-law’s sleep also improved markedly, followed by relief of his mood and cognitive disturbances.

Before this, I had not had great confidence in my own approach to treating Alzheimer’s; after all, it is the medical consensus that Alzheimer’s is incurable. My original idea was simple: as long as my father could fall asleep and not be tormented by insomnia, that would be enough. His insomnia was not ordinary insomnia and could not be simply relieved by calming-the-spirit and sleep-aid herbs—we had tried them, with no effect.

After seeing similar results in another patient, I was fortunate enough to encounter Dr. Bredesen’s book The End of Alzheimer’s on WeChat Reading. After browsing it, I was delighted to discover that there was another doctor in the world whose thinking so closely resembled my own.

So reading this book gave me the feeling of meeting a long-lost friend. Over 30 years and more than 2,000 cases, he has worked out a systematic protocol for treating Alzheimer’s, and he selflessly shares his insights for the benefit of Alzheimer’s patients and their families everywhere. This noble act is truly admirable.

With this senior pioneer blazing the trail ahead of me, I feel more confident in my own explorations. At the same time, I feel a little disappointed: I had thought my approach was an innovation, only to learn that a senior expert had undertaken the same exploration as early as thirty years ago—and had already achieved some results.

But any original or non-original exploration in medicine, as long as it has actual efficacy, is of great value, because such exploration can help relieve patients’ suffering. When a condition affects patients numbering in the hundreds of millions, there is all the more need for people to seek new solutions from many directions. Even doing work that merely “supports the flowers with green leaves” can benefit others.

I became interested in Alzheimer’s because of my own family; because I studied medicine, I tried to explore treatment approaches; and because of that I encountered Dr. Bredesen’s The End of Alzheimer’s, from which I have benefited greatly. If your family is now suffering from Alzheimer’s, I hope you will also read Dr. Bredesen’s work; perhaps you, too, can benefit from the methods he describes.